Handling household tasks

ABSTRACT

In an embodiment, articles are left in storage areas, such as lockers or other receptacles, which may be associated with a household services company. In an embodiment, after depositing the articles in the storage area the articles are associated with the user by the household services company based on a claim by a user of using the storage area and/or tags associated with the articles.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/386,528, (Docket Number 30-1), entitled “Handling Household Tasks,”filed Mar. 22, 2006, by Arik Seth Levy, which is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD

The current specification relates to performing household services.

BACKGROUND

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not beassumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in thebackground section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the backgroundsection should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in theprior art. The subject matter in the background section merelyrepresents different approaches to accomplishing various tasks.

Typically, use of a service through a web interface requires priorregistration or account setup with the service provider.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the following drawings like reference numbers and labels are used torefer to the same elements. Although the following figures depictvarious examples of inventions associated with this specification, theinventions associated with this specification are not limited to theexamples depicted in the figures.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example of a system used for managinga set of storage areas for articles that need service.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an example of a computer system used inthe system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an example of the answering system ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 4A shows a block diagram of an example of a memory system that maybe used in the computer system of FIG. 2 and/or the answering service ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 4B shows a representation of an example of a tagged batch ofarticles that need service.

FIG. 5 shows a representation of an example of a webpage that may bepresented by a website associated with the household services company ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for handlingarticles that need service, which is performed by the household servicescompany of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for using theservices provided by the household services company of FIG. 1, which maybe performed by a user.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for constructingand/or assembling the household services company of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Although the issues discussed in the background or elsewhere may havemotivated some of the subject matter disclosed below, nonetheless, theembodiments disclosed below do not necessarily solve all of the problemsassociated with the subject matter discussed in the background orelsewhere. Some embodiments only address one of the problems, and someembodiments do not solve any of the problems associated with the subjectmatter discussed in the background or elsewhere.

In general, at the beginning of the discussion of each of FIGS. 1-5 is abrief description of each element. After the brief description of eachelement, each element is further discussed, usually in numerical order,but there is no one location where all of the information of any elementof FIGS. 1-8 is necessarily located. Unique information about anyparticular element or any other aspect of any of FIGS. 1-8 may be foundin, or implied by, any part of the specification.

In various places in discussing the drawings a range of letters, such asa-m or a-n are used to refer to individual elements of various series ofelements that are the same. In each of these series, the ending lettersare integer variables that can be any number. Unless indicatedotherwise, the number of elements in each of these series is unrelatedto the number of elements in others of these series. Specifically, eventhough one letter (e.g. “m”) comes earlier in the alphabet than anotherletter (e.g., “n”), the order of these letters in the alphabet does notmean that the earlier letter represents a smaller number. The value ofthe earlier letter is unrelated to the later letter, and may represent avalue that is greater than, the same as, or less than the later letter.The ellipses in the figures, which may be located between any two items,indicate that any number of similar items may be included between thosetwo items.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example of service system 100.Service system 100 may include storage areas 102 a-n, keys 103 a-n,locks 104 a-n, network 106, household services company 108, which mayinclude answering system 110, link 111, computer system 112, link 113,service equipment 114, and camera 115. Service system 100 may alsoinclude phone 116, link 117, cell phone 118, link 119, network appliance122, and link 124. In other embodiments, service system 100 may notinclude all of the components listed and/or may include other componentsin addition to or instead of those listed above.

FIG. 1 illustrates examples of a variety of ways in which a user mayinteract with a household services company associated with servicesystem 100. In service system 100 users may deposit their articles forwhich service is desired in a storage area, optionally specify themanner in which their articles should be handled, and then pick up thearticles from the same storage area. In an embodiment, the articles forwhich service is desired may be any of a number of different types ofarticles needing any of a number of different services, which will bediscussed in conjunction with the description of household servicescompany 108, below.

In service system 100 it is possible to first deposit the articles in astorage area, and then later establish an account and/or inform arepresentative of the household services company that the articles arein a storage area associated with the household services company waitingto be washed. In this specification the term household services companyrepresentative is generic to a household services company employee,because by virtue of being employed by the household services companythe employee may at any time find himself or herself unexpectedly in asituation where the employee is required to do something on behalf ofthe household services company even if the household services companywould not ordinarily want that employee to represent the householdservices company. The term household services company employee may besubstituted for household services company representative in any placein this specification to obtain a specific embodiment.

Storage areas 102 a-n may be capable of holding articles and may beaccessible by both the user and one or more house hold servicescompanies. In an embodiment, each of storage areas 102 a-n storesarticles associated with only one order. In another embodiment, each ofstorage areas 102 a-n stores articles associated with only one account.In an embodiment, storage areas 102 a-n may be lockers. In anotherembodiment, storage areas 102 a-n may be any receptacle, such as bins,cages, baskets, containers, and/or bags (in this specification, the wordreceptacle is generic to a locker and any other container). In anembodiment storage areas 102 a-n are secure in the sense that only theuser and household services company 108 are authorized to access storageareas 102 a-n. After one of storage areas 102 a-n is already in use,others desiring access to the same storage area, since they are notauthorized to have access, are expected to be required to defeat atleast one security device, such as by breaking the storage area, pickinga lock, and/or breaking a code. In an embodiment, storage areas 102 a-nmay be associated with (e.g., owned, rented, and/or managed by) ahousehold services company. In an alternative embodiment, one or more ofstorage areas 102 a-n may be owned by another party unrelated to thehousehold services company (e.g., owned by the user). In an embodiment,storage areas 102 a-n are within a service area (e.g., a pickup radius)of the household services company.

Keys 103 a-n are used for locking and unlocking storage areas 102 a-n.Keys 103 a-n may be any sort of key. In one embodiment, keys 103 a-n mayhave teeth for moving a series of pins up and down until those pins arein line with a shear line of a lock cylinder, allowing that cylinder torotate freely inside the lock and the lock to open. In anotherembodiment, keys 103 a-n may be cards that are readable by a machine,such as cards having magnetic strips that store a code for opening anelectronic lock. In an embodiment, keys 103 a-n are stored in theirrespective locks. Removing one of keys 103 a-n from the lock causes thelock to lock. When a user desires to use one of storage areas 102 a-n,the user places the user's articles in the storage area desired, removesthe key, which locks the storage area.

In an alternative embodiment, when storage areas 102 a-n are not in use,keys 103 a-n are stored inside storage areas 102 a-n, and storage areas102 a-n are left unlocked. In an embodiment, a second set of copies ofkeys 103 a-n are held by the household services company. In anotherembodiment, the household services company has another manner ofaccessing the contents of storage areas 102 a-n (e.g., which may requirea different set of keys), and consequently, the household servicescompany does not necessarily have copies of keys 103 a-n. When a userdesires to use one of storage areas 102 a-n, the corresponding one ofkeys 103 a-n is removed from the storage area. Articles may then beplaced into the storage area and the storage area may be locked. In analternative embodiment, instead of keys 103 a-n, one or more of storageareas 102 a-n have combination locks or locks requiring an entry codethat may be changed by the household services company and/or user.

Locks 104 a-n may lock storage areas 102 a-n. Locks 104 a-n may be anysort of lock that accepts a physical key. In one embodiment, locks 104a-n are turn key locks. In an embodiment locks 104 a-n store keys 103a-n when storage areas 102 a-n, respectively, are not in use. While thekey is in the lock, the lock is unlocked, and the user may place his orher belongings inside. Rotating one of keys 103 a-n into a position inwhich the key may be freely removed and/or the act of removing the key,causes the corresponding one of locks 104 a-n to lock. In anotherembodiment, locks 104 a-n are electronic locks that are opened andclosed in response to reading a card. The card may be stored in thelock, which may keep the lock unlocked, and removal of the card from thelock may cause the lock to lock. Locks 104 a-n (as well as keys 103 a-n)may be provided by the household services company.

In an alternative embodiment, the user may choose a combination and/oraccess code, lock the lock, and then if the household services companydoes not already have the combination or access code or an alternativecombination or access code that opens the same lock, the user may informthe household services company what the access code or combination is.In another embodiment, instead of locks 104 a-n being supplied by thehousehold services company, as long as both the user and the householdservices company are able to open locks 104 a-n, one or more of locks104 a-n may be supplied by the users.

Network 106 may be any one or any combination of one or more Local AreaNetworks (LANs), Wide Area Networks (WANs), wireless networks, telephonenetworks, and/or other networks. Network 106 may be used by users andthe household services company to communicate with one another regardingarticles in storage area 102 a-n and/or articles being serviced by thehousehold services company.

Household services company 108 may pick up the articles from storageareas 102 a-n, service the articles, and drop off the service articlesin storage areas 102 a-n. Alternatively, household services company 108may oversee or manage the picking up, servicing, and dropping off of thearticles. For example, household services company 108 may outsource theservicing of the articles, the picking up of the articles and/or thedropping of the articles.

Household services company 108 may wash laundry, dry clean clothing,shine shoes, polish silverware, duplicating keys, clean handbags,sharpen kitchen knives or other tools, deliver packages, or performother services for other articles. In an embodiment, household servicescompany 108 tags the articles upon picking up the articles to identifythe user and/or storage area associated with the articles. In anembodiment, items that are dry cleaned and/or require individualhandling are individually tagged, while items that are washed are taggedby the batch. In an embodiment, household services company 108, if givenpermission by the user, attaches a permanent tag to items that the userwishes to have dry cleaned or wishes to receive individual attention.Household services company 108 may store a history of the article andhandling preferences in association with an identifier on a permanenttag.

In alternative embodiments, household services company 108 mayperiodically check storage areas 102 a-n to see if any batches ofarticles have been delivered. In an alternative embodiment, the usertags a batch of articles (e.g., a bag of laundry) that is placed withinone of storage areas 102 a-n. For example, the user may be set up with abag for articles and a label prior to using household services company108 or the user may fill out a slip identifying the batch of articleswhile the user is at one of storage area 102 a-n. Household servicescompany 108 may include one or more electronic storage areas (e.g.,electronic lockers), which may accept payments at the storage area.

Household services company 108 may also operate as a conventionalhousehold services company (e.g., a conventional repair shop, laundrymat and/or dry cleaners). When a user wants a batch of articlesserviced, the user may choose to have part of the process occur usingone of the methods described herein and another part of the processoccur using another method. For example, the user may drop off thearticles in one of storage areas 102 a-n and then pick up the articlesin person at household services company 108 from a representative ofhousehold services company 108 and return the key to the representativeof the household services company, instead of returning the key to thestorage area from where the articles were dropped off. As anotherexample, the user may drop off the articles at household servicescompany 108 and pickup one of key 103 a-n. Then when the articles havebeen serviced, the user may pickup the articles from one of storageareas 102 a-n, and leave the key in the corresponding lock. In anembodiment, the user may reserve one of storage areas 102 a-n (e.g., bytaking the key) and optionally inform household services company thatthe user is expecting a delivery. Household services company 108 mayreceive packages on behalf of the user (that were delivered by the postoffice or a delivery service such as UPS). Alternatively, if no lockerwas reserved, household services company 108 may then place the packagein one of storage area reserved 102 a-n, and then inform the user thatthe package is ready for pickup, wait for the user to inform householdservice company that a storage area has been reserved by the user, ormay ask that the user choose a storage area where to deliver the package(e.g., by taking the key until the package is delivered). In anotherembodiment, after a package is received, household services company 108places the package in one of storage areas 102 a-n, takes the keyassociated with that storage area, places the key in a lock box, whichmay be associated with the storage area, and e-mails or otherwisenotifies the user of the combination.

Answering system 110 is optional. Answering system 110 may included oneor more answering machines and/or telephones. After dropping offarticles, a user may phone household services company 108, and answeringsystem 110 may receive and handle the call automatically or may handlethe call with the assistance of a human operator. Link 111 linksanswering system 110 to one or more networks via which messages are sentfrom the users to household services company 108. In one embodiment,answering system 110 is one or more ordinary telephones and/or answeringmachines. Embodiments in which answering system 110 includes devicesother than ordinary telephones and/or answering machines are discussedin conjunction with computer system 112 and FIGS. 3 and 4, below.

Computer system 112 may receive text and/or voice messages from usersafter articles have been dropped off, and computer system 112 may belinked to network 106 via link 113. Computer system 112 may be used tohost and/or maintain a website associated with household servicescompany 108. For example, computer system 112 may include one or moreweb servers and/or one or more administrative servers. Users may logonto a website associated with household services company 108, informhousehold services company 108 about the location of articles that areready to be picked up, set up an account, make payments (e.g., on line),indicate specifics about how to handle the articles (e.g., whether towash or dry clean the clothing, how much if any starch to use, whetherto set a wash to delicate, heavy, cold, or hot, and/or what type ofdetergent or solvent to use), and/or check the current status of a batchof articles. Alternatively, computer system 112 may communicate withuser via e-mail, instant messaging, Short Message Service (SMS)messaging, and/or other forms of text and/or voice communications.

Answering system 110 and computer system 112 may be communicativelylinked. Answering system 110 and/or computer system 112 may be similarin that both may receive and process orders for providing service and/ormay setup new accounts. Answering system 110 and/or computer system 112may store customer information and/or information related to the currentstatus of each user's articles being handled by household servicescompany 108. Answering system 110 and/or computer system 112 mayinclude, and/or may be linked to, a database for tracking articles andstoring user information. In an embodiment, household services company108 includes both answering system 110 and computer system 112. Inanother embodiment, household services company 108 includes only one ofanswering system 110 and computer system 112. In an embodiment,answering system 110 may accept payments either via a human operator orvia a series of one or more automated voice activated payment menus.

Service equipment 114 may include any equipment that is used forservicing articles. For example, service equipment 114 may includeequipment for cleaning clothing, such as washing machines, dryers,combined washer-dryers, and/or dry cleaning equipment. There are manydifferent types of dry cleaning equipment that may be used withinservice equipment 114. Dry cleaning equipment may include any machinethat cleans clothing using a solvent that does not include water. Forexample, hydrogen, Stoddard solvent, carbon tetrachloride,trichlolroethane, Valcene 113 and Freon 113 may be used as dry cleaningsolvents. In an embodiment, the dry cleaning machine may be somewhatsimilar to a combination of a washing machine and a dryer or there maybe a separate washer and dryer. In one embodiment, garments may beplaced into a washing/extraction chamber (which is sometimes referred toas a basket, or drum), which may be the core of the dry cleaningmachine. The washing chamber may contain a horizontal, perforated drum(which is the basket) that rotates within an outer shell. The shell mayhold the one or more dry cleaning solvents while the rotating drum mayhold a garment bag. However, there are many other types of dry cleaningmachines that may be used instead. In this specification any place theword clean appears, the words wash or dry clean may be substituted toobtain specific embodiments.

Service equipment 114 may be linked to computer system 112 and/oranswering system 110. In an embodiment, after the user specifies how toservice the user's articles via a website or answering service 110,answering service 110 and/or computer system 112 may send the user'sservice preferences to service equipment 114, which may automaticallyservice the user's articles in the manner specified. For example, ahuman operator may add the batch of articles to a service machine, enteran identifier that identifies the batch, and then the service machineautomatically handles the batch according the user service instructionsthat were sent from one of answering service 110 and/or a web page viacomputer system 112. for example, service equipment may wash and/or dryclean the clothing following service instructions that were downloadedfrom computer system 112 and/or answering service 110.

Camera 115 is optional. In an embodiment, upon picking up the articlesfrom storage areas 102 a-n or at a later time, camera 115 photographsarticles that need to be cleaned. The photographs may serve as at leastpart of a record of which articles belong to which user. Items that arepermanently tagged may only need to be photographed once when thepermanent tag is attached. The photograph may be stored in associationwith an identifier associated the permanent tag. When the permanentlytagged article is received a second time for servicing, the permanentlytagged item does not need to be photographed a second time, because theprior photograph of the article may be used for identifying the article.In an embodiment, images of the articles within a batch of articles arestored in computer system 112, answering system 110, and/or anothersystem capable of storing electronic images. In an embodiment, theimages may be stored in a location such that they may be accessed by auser via the website. The user may then use the images of the articlesto identify an article and specify the manner in which the article is tobe cleaned.

Phone 116 may be an ordinary phone that may be used by a user to contacthousehold services company 108 about articles. Phone 116 iscommunicatively linked via line 117 to network 106. Cell phone 118 maybe a mobile phone that, via network 106, may be used by a user tocontact household services company 108 about articles. Cell phone 118 iscommunicatively linked via line 119 to network 106. Network appliance122 may be a personal computer, handheld computer, laptop, a terminallinked to a computer, or any other network appliance. In thisspecification, the term network appliance refers to any appliancecapable of communicating via a network (e.g., a cell phone). Networkappliance 122 may be used to communicate with household services company108 via text and/or voice messages. Network appliance 122 iscommunicatively linked via line 124 to network 106. Phone 116, cellphone 118, and network appliance 122 are just some examples of the manydifferent ways that a user may communicate with household servicescompany 108.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of computer system 200used in service system 100. The computer system 200 may include outputsystem 202, input system 204, memory system 206, processor system 208,communications system 212, and input/output system 214. In otherembodiments, computer system 200 may not include all of the componentslisted and/or may include other components in addition to or instead ofthose listed above.

Computer system 200 may be an embodiment of computer system 112 and/ornetwork appliance 122. Output system 202 may include any one of, someof, any combination of, or all of a monitor system, a handheld displaysystem, a printer system, a speaker system, a connection and/orinterface system to one or more sound systems, a connection and/orinterface system to one or more peripheral devices, a connection and/orinterface system to one or more computer systems, a connection and/orinterface system to one or more LANs, and/or a connection and/orinterface system to one or more WANs, for example.

Input system 204 may include any one of, some of, any combination of, orall of a keyboard system, a mouse system, a track ball system, a trackpad system, buttons on a handheld system, a scanner system, a microphonesystem, a connection and/or interface to a sound system, and/or aconnection and/or interface system to a computer system, a connectionand/or interface to an intranet, and/or a connection and/or interface toan interne (e.g., IrDA, USB), for example.

Memory system 206 may include, for example, any one of, some of, anycombination of, or all of a long term storage system, such as a harddrive; a short term storage system, such as random access memory and/orflash memory; and/or a removable storage system, such as a floppy driveor a removable drive. Memory system 206 may include one or moremachine-readable mediums that may store a variety of different types ofinformation. The term machine-readable medium is used to refer to anymedium capable of carrying information that is readable by a machine.One example of a machine-readable medium is a computer-readable medium.Another example of a machine-readable medium is paper having holes thatare detected that trigger different mechanical, electrical, and/or logicresponses. In the specification, the term machine-readable medium doesnot include mediums that carry information while the information is intransit from one location to another, such as copper wire, opticalfiber, air, and/or any other medium for carrying electrical energy,electromagnetic energy, and/or other forms of signals. Memory system 206will be discussed further in connection with FIG. 4A.

Processor system 208 may include any one of, some of, any combinationof, or all of multiple parallel processors, a single processor, a systemof processors having one or more central processors and/or one or morespecialized processors dedicated to specific tasks.

Communications system 212 communicatively links output system 202, inputsystem 204, memory system 206, processor system 208, and/or input/outputsystem 214 to each other. Communications system 212 may include any oneof, some of, any combination of, or all of electrical cables, fiberoptic cables, and/or means of sending signals through air or water(e.g., wireless communications), or the like. Some examples of means ofsending signals through air and/or water include systems fortransmitting electromagnetic waves such as infrared and/or radio wavesand/or systems for sending sound waves.

Input/output system 214 may include devices that have a dual function asinput and output devices. For example, input/output system 214 mayinclude one or more touch sensitive screens, which display an image andtherefore are an output device and accept input when the screens arepressed by a finger or stylus, for example. The touch sensitive screensmay be sensitive to heat and/or pressure. One or more of theinput/output devices may be sensitive to a voltage or current producedby a stylus, for example. Input/output system 214 is optional, and maybe used in addition to or in place of output system 202 and/or inputdevice 204.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of an answering system 300that may be used by household services company 108. The answering system300 may include output system 302, input system 304, memory system 306,processor system 308, communications system 312, and input/output system314. In other embodiments, answering system 300 may not include all ofthe components listed and/or may include other components in addition toor instead of those listed above.

Answering system 300 is one example of answering system 110. Inanswering system 300, output system 302, memory system 306, processorsystem 308, communications system 312, and input/output system 314 maybe the same as output system 202, input system 204, memory system 206,processor system 208, communication system 212, and input/output system214, respectively, which were described in conjunction with FIG. 2,above. However, input system 304 may include a telephone keypad 316,while input/output system 314 may include a handset 318 and phone lineinterface 320. Telephone keypad 316 may facilitate dialing phone numbersso that a representative of household services company 106 may phoneusers and communicate about articles. Handset 318 may be used by arepresentative of household services company 106 (FIG. 1) to talk on thephone with a user. Phone line interface 320 may allow answering system300 to connect to a telephone network for receiving and placingtelephone calls.

FIG. 4A shows a block diagram of an embodiment of memory system 400.Memory system 400 may include user data 402, service data 404, userinstructions 406, and service instructions 408. In other embodiments,memory system 400 may not include all of the components listed and/ormay include other components in addition to or instead of those listedabove.

Memory system 400 may be an embodiment of memory system 206 in whichcomputer system 200 is an embodiment of computer system 112. Similarly,memory system 400 may be an embodiment of memory system 306. User data402 is information that relates to users. User data 402 may include anyof a variety of different types of information about users, such asnames, mailing addresses, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, instantmessaging addresses, billing information, other contact information,account information, and/or default service preferences.

Service data 404 may include information about current articles batches,such as pickup information for batches currently waiting to be picked upand storage area identifiers associated with various articles that werein batches of articles that were picked up. Service data 404 may includeuser service instructions (service instructions from the user, such ascleaning instructions) from the user associated with a particulararticle that needs to be cleaned. Service data 404 may includeinstructions for areas requiring special attention, such as tears thatneed to patched or sewn together, buttons that need to be replaced, hemsthat need to be taken in or let out, other alterations that need to beperformed. In this specification, references to the user serviceinstructions, whether referred to as user service instructions or byanother term although also generic to many other types of user serviceinstructions may include and may even only be stain indications and/orstain locations (even though in several places in this specificationstain indications or stain locations are sometimes listed separately inthe same sentence as the user service instructions).

Service data 404 may include a current status of the individual articlesand/or of the entire batch of articles, such as whether a particulararticle is currently being washed, was already washed but not dried orwhether the article was already dried. Service data 404 may include anindication of percentage of the service for the entire batch of articlesis complete. Service data 404 may include an expected date and/or timeof when the batch of articles are expected to be ready for pickup andwaiting in one or storage areas 102 a-n. Optionally, service data 404may include images of the articles associated with various batches ofarticles. Service data 404 may include stain information, such as whichgarment or other article contains the stain, where on the garment thestain is located, the cause of the stain (e.g., ketchup, wine, or motoroil) and the type of stain. In an alternative embodiment, service datamay also include information about articles that are expected to bewaiting to be picked up from one of storage areas 102 a-n at aparticular time. If there are multiple locations where storage areas 102a-n are located, service data 404 may include information about where todrop off each batch of articles once the batch is clean.

User instructions 406 may include instructions for receiving informationfrom a user and/or providing information to a user. The transfer ofinformation that user instructions 406 controls may include a directinteraction with a user or an interaction that occurs via a householdservices company representative. For example, a user may directlyinteract with user instructions 406 by logging on to a websiteassociated with household services company 108, if memory 400 is memory206. Alternatively a user may directly interact with user instructions406 by phoning household services company 108 and talking into answeringsystem 110, if memory 400 is memory 306. In this embodiment, userinstructions may be an automated answering machine that includes a voicemenu (and the voice responses of the user may be converted into machineinstructions that are automatically sent to service equipment 112 or topart of user data 402). In yet another embodiment, a user may callhousehold services company 108, and speak to a household servicescompany representative. The household services company representativemay then enter information into or retrieve information from computersystem 112 by interacting with user instructions 406. User instructions406 may set up new accounts for new users, place orders for servicingnew batches of articles, make payments and/or return status informationabout current batches of articles. User instructions 406 mayautomatically send a text message and/or voice message to the user whenthe user's articles are ready.

Service instructions 408 may track batches of articles and/or maycontrol automated service processes, if there are any. Serviceinstructions 408 may include a user interface for a household servicescompany representative to enter information about a batch of articles.

User data 402 and/or service data 404 may be created by userinstructions 406 and/or service instructions 408. For example, when auser establishes an account user instructions 406 may as a result createuser data 406 and/or add to user data 406. In an embodiment, servicedata 404 may be created by user instructions 406 and subsequentlyupdated by service instructions 408 as the batch of articles proceedsthrough the cleaning process, as controlled by service instructions 408.Alternatively, all or part of user data 402 and/or service data 404 arecreated and/or updated by representatives of household services company108.

FIG. 4B shows a representation of an example of a service batch 450,which has been tagged. Service batch 450 includes articles 452 a-m andtags 454 a-m. In other embodiments, service batch 450 may not includeall of the items listed and/or may include other items in addition to orinstead of those listed above.

Service batch 450 is an example of a batch of articles that may be leftin one of storage areas 102 a-n (FIG. 1), and articles 452 a-m areexamples of some articles that may be included in service batch 450.Although the illustration of articles 452 a-m in FIG. 4B only showsshirts and pants that need to be cleaned, any type of clothing or othertypes of articles that need to be serviced may be included in servicebatch 450.

Tags 454 a-m are examples of tags that may be used for tagging articles,such as articles 452 a-m. In an embodiment, only articles that are drycleaned, that the user wants individually tagged, and/or requireindividual attention are individually tagged. In an embodiment, if theuser gives household services company 108 permission, the tagged itemmay be permanently tagged. Tags 454 a and 454 m are examples ofpermanent tags, and tags 454 b and 454 c are examples of temporary tags.Tags 454 a-m may include an identifier for identifying the article. Ahistory of the item and handling preferences are stored (e.g., on acomputer readable medium) in association with the identifier identifyingof the tag. In an embodiment, one or more of tags 454 a-m may include(e.g., stored on the tag) identifying information of the user (e.g.,name, address, phone, number, and/or e-mail address) a history of thegarment, and/or the user's cleaning preferences. For example, one ormore of tags 454 a-m may include a computer readable medium that storesthe garment's history and/or the user's cleaning instructions. Asanother example, one or more of tags 454 a-m may include barcodes and/orRadio Frequency Identifiers (RFIDs). If one or more of tags 454 a-m areRFIDs, the RFIDs may store identifying information of the user (e.g.,name, address, phone, number, and/or e-mail address) a history of thegarment, and/or the user's cleaning preferences. In an alternativeembodiment, all articles are tagged (with identifiers, which may also bereferred to as identifications), so that each article may be identified.The identifiers may be used to identify the user of the articles. Adifferent identifier may be placed on each of tags 454 a-m, and theidentifiers may be stored by computer system 112 in association with theuser and/or a picture of the article, thereby allowing the user to referto the article of by its unique identifier. The clothing that has beenidentified may be photographed by camera 115, so that the pictures ofclothing 452 a-m may be uploaded to a website associated with householdservices company 108 (FIG. 1).

In an embodiment, all of the articles in a batch are tagged, but not allof the articles are tagged with permanent tags. The tagging of eacharticle and the identifying of each article of clothing with a differentidentifier is optional. In other embodiments, the articles of clothingare not tagged. In another embodiment, the articles may be tagged, butwith tags that just identify the service batch to which the articlebelongs, but do not directly identify the user and/or the particulararticle (e.g., no photograph of the article is stored in answeringsystem 110 or computer system 112).

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of an example of webpage 500. Webpage 500may include article image 504, stain 506, region indicator 508, andoptional tools 510. In other embodiments, webpage 500 may not includeall of the components listed and/or may include other components inaddition to or instead of those listed above.

Webpage 500 may be used for indicating the location of one or moreregions on an article where a particular type of work needs to beperformed, such as removing a stain, repairing a defect, or painting ascratch. Article image 504 may be a picture of the user's actualarticle, which may have been photographed with camera 115 (FIG. 1).Although in the example of FIG. 5, the article is clothing, webpage 500may be used for identifying a location on any other article wherespecial attention is needed. Stain 506 may be an image of a stain on apicture of the user's clothing or any other article. Stain 506 is justone example of region that needs special attention. As mentioned above,webpage 500 could also used for identifying location of a scratch, forexample. In this embodiment, the user logs on to the website and selectsthe photograph of the article that has the region requiring specialattention, and indicates the location of the region on the article.Region indicator 508 indicates the location of the region that needsspecial attention, such as a region having a stain, for householdservices company 108 to service. The user may add region indicator 508to article image 504 to indicate where a region requiring specialattention is located. Optionally, other information may be entered intoa website associated with webpage 500, such as the cause of a defectand/or the nature of the defect. For example, if the region requiringspecial attention includes a stain on an article of clothing, the usermay enter stain information and/or other information identifying anarticle of clothing with the stain. In an embodiment, a textualdescription of the region requiring special attention and the nature ofa special service required and/or a description of other serviceinstructions may be entered by the user in addition to or instead ofregion indicator 508. In other words, in an embodiment the user may onlybe able to enter text information and/or may only be able to identifythe article using text information, while in another embodiment, theuser may be able to identify the region and/or the article using acombination of text and image information. In the region containing astain, the text information may include the cause of the stain, andother information about how to clean the article, such as whether to dryclean or wash the article, whether to press the article, how much starchto use, the type of detergent to use, and/or, if the garment is beingwashed, whether to wash the garment on a delicate, permanent press, orother special setting.

Tools 510 are optional, and are optionally provided to the user. Inconjunction with webpage 500 or an associated website the user may beprovided with one or more tools for graphically indicating the locationof a region needing special attention. In the example of FIG. 5, threetools are provided. One tool is for creating circles for circling theregion, one tool is for creating arrows for pointing to the region, andone tool is for creating squiggly lines in case a more general type of ashape or line is needed. In one embodiment, after one of tools 510 isclicked upon (e.g., with a mouse) when the user moves the cursor to apoint on the screen, clicks, and then moves the cursor. As a result,after the second click, as the cursor moves a graphical indicator thatresembles the icon depicted on the face of the tool clicked is created.Although as depicted in FIG. 5 tools 510 includes three tools, one tool,two tools, or any number of tools may be provided. Other tools may beprovided instead of or in addition to those illustrated. For example,the tools may include buttons which when depressed allow the user tocreate another shapes or highlight a region in a particular color. Thus,although in FIG. 5 region indicator 508 is depicted as a circleencircling the place where the region is expected to be located, othergraphical indicators may be used instead of or in addition to circles,such as squares, ellipses, triangles, or any other shape. In anembodiment, arrows and/or lines (and not circles) are used to point tolocations of stains. In another embodiment, the regions having thestains are highlighted by coloring the region a particular color, suchas yellow, orange, red, green, or blue.

In an alternative embodiment, article image 504 may be a generic imageof type of article of clothing. A web server associated with webpage500, may store a series of several different images of generic articlesthat are intended to represent different types of articles, such asgeneric pieces of clothing or that are intended to represent differenttypes of clothing. The user may logon to a website, and select the oneof these several different images that best represents the articlehaving a region requiring special attention, and use the image to aid inidentifying the article of clothing with the stain and/or to identifythe location of the stain on the article of clothing.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of method 600, which isperformed by household services company 108. In step 602, articles arereceived in a storage area, such as a receptacle. In step 604, householdservices company 108 receives a request to service a batch of articles(e.g., clean a batch of clothing). Step 604 may include receiving astorage area identifier (e.g., a locker number) of a storage areacontaining the articles. In an alternative embodiment, the request toservice the batch may be accompanied by instructions for how to servicethe articles, or user service instructions may be received at a laterstep. Step 604 may include receiving information about a featurerequiring special attention, such as a stain, tear, or scratch. In analternative embodiment, a combination or code may be received by thehousehold services company for opening the storage area containing thearticles. Step 604 may also include receiving a payment. In anembodiment, payment may be received at other times. In an embodiment,payment is received prior to the articles being returned. In step 606,if the user does not have an account, household services company 108 mayalso receive information for setting up an account. In step 608,household services company 108 (FIG. 1) retrieves the articles. Inoptional step 610, household services company 108 tags each article(e.g., articles of clothing) in the batch of articles. In optional step612, household services company 108 photographs the articles associatedwith the batch and uploads the pictures to a web server. The picturesmay then be stored in a location where the user may view the picturesfor identifying regions needing special attention or identify thearticles for other purposes.

In optional step 614, the indications of locations of the regionrequiring special attention, and/or instructions for servicing articlesand/or the regions are received in addition to, or instead of, receivinguser service instructions earlier. Optionally, the user serviceinstructions are never received. In optional step 614, the request forthe status of the articles are received from the user. Step 614 may berepeated and/or performed anytime.

In step 615, the articles are serviced, and if user service instructionsare received the articles are serviced according to the user serviceinstructions. In an embodiment, the service equipment downloadsinformation related to the user service instructions (e.g., one or moremachine executable service instructions derived from the user serviceinstructions), and automatically carries out some or all of the userservice instructions. for example a washing machine may download whetherto wash a piece of clothing in hot, warm, or cold water.

In step 616, the articles may be placed in the one of storage areas 102a-l that the user reserved by taking the key, and the articles are readyfor pickup (in an embodiment only the user's articles may be placed inthe storage area and no other user is granted permission to access thatstorage area until the user picks up the articles). Optionally,household services company 110 may send an indication (e.g., anautomated message such as a text message) to the user, or householdservices company 110 may otherwise inform the user that the articles arewaiting for pick up. Alternatively, information provided to a user,during a status check may include the date and/or time at which thearticles will be ready for pickup by the user. Step 616 may involveunlocking the storage area to return the articles to the storage areaand locking the storage area after returning the articles. In step 618,the storage area is emptied by the user. If a physical key was used, thekey may be received from the user at the storage area.

In an embodiment, each of the steps of method 600 is a distinct step. Inanother embodiment, although depicted as distinct steps in FIG. 6, steps602-618 may not be distinct from one another. In other embodiments,method 600 may not have all of the above steps and/or may have othersteps in addition to, or instead of, those listed above. Although in oneembodiment the steps of method 600 are preformed in the order listedabove in other embodiments, the steps of method 600 may be performed inanother order and only some of possibly none of the steps of method 600are preformed in the order listed above. For example, in otherembodiments, steps 602-608 may be performed in any order with respect toone another. Also, step 606 may be performed at any time with respect tothe other steps. However, after the articles have been returned to theuser, if step 606 was not yet performed, the user may not have much ofan incentive to establish an account and pay for the services provided.Steps 610 and 612 may be performed in any order with respect to oneanother. If step 614 does not rely on steps 610 or 612, or the parts ofstep 614 that do not rely on steps 610 or 612 may be performed atanytime prior to cleaning the articles to which the user serviceinstructions pertain. Subsets of the steps listed above as part ofmethod 600 may be used to form their own method.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method 700, which may beperformed by a user. In step 702, the user places the articles in thestorage area. Step 702 may include the user locking the storage area andtaking the key. In this embodiment, the user keeps the key until thearticles are returned to the storage area, and the storage area is notused by other users prior to the articles of the current user beingpicked up from the storage area. In alternative embodiments, the lockrequires a code or combination in order to be opened, which allows thehousehold services company to change the code or combination for use byother users after the articles are picked up.

In step 704, the user contacts the household services company, and in anembodiment if the user does not have an account, the user sets up anaccount. In an embodiment, in step 704, the user may send a request tohousehold services company 108 (FIG. 1) to pick up and clean a batch ofarticles. The request may include an identifier associated with thestorage area where the articles are stored, and may include anidentification of the user. Step 704 may also include making a payment(e.g., on line or via telephone). In an embodiment, the payment may bemade at other times. In an embodiment, the payment is made prior pickingup the articles at the storage area. For example, the credit cardinformation may be taken at this point. In another embodiment, the useris not billed until after the articles are picked up and inventoried. Inother words, instead of the user informing household services company108 how many articles were in the batch and computing the amount of thebill, household services company 108 inventories the articles and theninforms the user what the amount of the bill, and requests payment.

In optional step 705, the user may send stain information and/or userservice instructions to household services company 108. Optional step705 may be performed by the user calling and verbally transmittinginformation about a feature requiring special attention associated witha region requiring special attention, and/or user service instructions,by the user sending a text message, and/or by the user logging into awebsite associated with household services company 108 and entering thestain information and/or user service instructions. The website mayinclude fields for entering text information and/or may include one moreweb pages for entering graphical indications as to the locations ofstains. In optional step 706, the user checks the status of thearticles. In step 708, the user receives (e.g., via retrieving and/orpassively receiving) a notification that the articles are ready forpickup. If the code has been changed, the user may be supplied with anew code for opening the storage area (which may be expected to beaccessible exclusively by that user). In step 710, the user returns thekey to the storage area. In step 712, the user picks up the articlesfrom the storage area.

In an embodiment, each of the steps of method 700 is a distinct step. Inanother embodiment, although depicted as distinct steps in FIG. 7, steps702-712 may not be distinct from one another. In other embodiments,method 700 may not have all of the above steps and/or may have othersteps in addition to or instead of those listed above. Although in oneembodiment the steps of method 700 are preformed in the order listedabove, in other embodiments the steps of method 700 may be performed inanother order, and only some of, or possibly none of, the steps ofmethod 700 are preformed in the order listed above. For example, steps702-705 may be performed in any order with respect to one another, andstep 706 may be performed any time after step 704. Also, in analternative embodiment, step 710 may be performed any time afterhousehold services company 108 picks up the articles. However, ifanother user uses the same locker prior to the articles being returned,household services company 108 (FIG. 1) may need to return the articlesto a different location. Subsets of the steps listed above as part ofmethod 700 may be used to form their own method.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method 800 of assembling,installing and/or configuring household services company 108 (FIG. 1).In step 802, storage areas 102 a-n are procured, installed, and/orassembled, provided with locks 104 a-n, and provided with keys 103 a-nfor locks 104 a-n, respectively. Optionally, locks 104 a-n allow keys103 a-n to be removed when locks 104 a-n are locked. In step 804,computer system 112 and/or answering system 110 are assembled (FIG. 1).Step 804 may include communicatively coupling computer system 112 and/oranswering system 110 to network 106 (FIG. 1) and/or to one anothernetwork. In step 806, the machine instructions (e.g., software) foranswering system 110 and/or computer system 112 are installed. Duringstep 806, user instructions 406 and service instructions 408 may beinstalled (FIG. 4). During step 806, a webpage and/or website may beinstalled and configured for receiving user service instructions, staininformation, requests for articles pickup, and/or status requests fromthe user. In step 808, service equipment 114 (FIG. 1) is assembled,procured, and/or installed. Step 808 may optionally includecommunicatively coupling service equipment 114 to answering service 110and/or computer system 112, so that machine instructions derived fromuser service instructions may be sent to service equipment 114. Inoptional step 810, camera 115 (FIG. 1) is assembled and may becommunicatively coupled to answering system 110 and/or computer system112, so that the pictures of clothing taken may be stored and/or placedon a web server for access by a user, via a web page.

In an embodiment, each of the steps of method 800 is a distinct step. Inanother embodiment, although depicted as distinct steps in FIG. 8, steps802-810 may not be distinct from one another. In other embodiments,method 800 may not have all of the above steps and/or may have othersteps in addition to or instead of those listed above. Although in oneembodiment the steps of method 800 are preformed in the order listedabove in other embodiments, the steps of method 800 may be performed inanother order and only some, or of possibly none of, the steps of method800 are preformed in the order listed above. For example, as long asenough of computer system 112 and/or answering service 110 have beenassembled so that the software can be installed prior to performing step806, and as long as prior to communicatively coupling two items, enoughof both are assembled to perform the communicatively coupling, any ofsteps 802-810 may be performed in any order with respect to one another.Subsets of the steps listed above as part of method 800 may be used toform their own method.

Each embodiment disclosed herein may be used or otherwise combined withany of the other embodiments disclosed. Any element of any embodimentmay be used in any embodiment. Although the invention has been describedwith reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents maybe substituted for elements thereof without departing from the truespirit and scope of the invention. In addition, modifications may bemade without departing from the essential teachings of the invention.

1. A method comprising: receiving articles in a storage area associatedwith a laundry service, the storage area being associated with anidentifier that was assigned to the storage area prior to a uservisiting the storage area, the storage area having a purely mechanicallock and a purely mechanical key, the key mechanically locking andmechanically unlocking the lock; allowing a user to take the key withthe user, without being required to be at a location associated with thelaundry service; receiving a notification that the articles areassociated with the storage area, the notification including theidentifier associated with the storage area and an identifier associatedwith the user and the notification being generated by the user, thenotification being received via the Internet; associating the user withthe articles based on the identifier associated with the storage area,and the identifier associated with the user; servicing the articles; andreturning the articles to the storage area.
 2. The method of claim 1further comprising: storing the key in the lock, while the storage areais not in use by a customer, the lock being configured such thatremoving the key locks the lock and such that in order for the lock tobe unlocked the key must be in the lock.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the storage area is a locker, the articles including at leastclothing, and the method further comprises: inventorying the clothingafter receiving the notification, and cleaning the clothing.
 4. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the storage area is a locker, the articlesincluding at least clothing, and after receiving the articles removingthe articles from the storage area, inventorying the clothing prior toreceiving the notification.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: allowing a user to hold onto the key until a batch ofarticles associated with the user is returned to the storage areaassociated with the key.
 6. A method comprising: receiving articles in astorage area associated with a laundry service; allowing a user to takethe key, the user being one from which the articles were received in thestorage area; and receiving a notification that the articles areassociated with the storage area, wherein the storage area is associatedwith a purely mechanical lock and a purely mechanical key; associating auser with the articles after establishing an account for a userassociated with the articles and receiving the notification; cleaningthe article; and returning the article to the storage area.
 7. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising photographing at least one of thearticles received.
 8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:uploading a photograph resulting from the photographing to a webpagethat is viewable by a user.
 9. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising: providing, via a computer system having a processor systemincluding one or more processors, a pictorial representation of thearticle; and the processor system providing a status of the article viaone or more web pages.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:maintaining a set of a plurality of storage areas, a set of theplurality of locks, and a set of a plurality of keys, when one of theplurality of storage areas is not in use, a corresponding one of theplurality of keys is stored inside a corresponding one of the pluralityof locks, which corresponds to the one of the plurality of storage areasthat is not being used.
 11. A system comprising: a storage area forreceiving articles, the storage area being associated with a laundryservice, the storage area having a purely mechanical lock and a purelymechanical key for locking the storage area, the storage area beingstationary; the lock being configured such that removing the key locksthe lock and such that in order for the lock to be in an unlocked statethe key must be in the lock, therein encouraging a user to leave the keythe in the lock when finished using the storage area; and one or morecomputer readable media storing thereon at least a method including atleast receiving a request to service articles from the customer, therequest including at least an identification of a location associatedwith a laundry service where the articles were placed by the user in thestorage area, and information identifying the user.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the method further comprises: establishing an accountfor the user based on the request.
 13. The system of claim 11 furthercomprising: a set of one or more receptacles, which include the storagearea, each receptacle having a lock and being associated with a key forlocking the lock.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein the method furthercomprises: receiving user service instructions from the user.
 15. Asystem comprising: one or more computer readable media storing thereonat least a method including at least receiving a request to servicearticles, the request including at least an identification of a locationassociated with a laundry service where the articles were placed by auser, and information identifying the user; receiving user serviceinstructions from the user; and service equipment configured forautomatically servicing the articles according to the user serviceinstructions after the articles are placed into the service equipment.